[CONTENTID1] 011. [/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2] Daisies Within [/CONTENTID2]

[CONTENTID3]

It had been two days since Eunseo’s journey to Seoul and yet she still hadn't recovered from the tremendous bliss. It felt too good to be swept aside as memories from that day continuously played in her head. It left such an impact, she even went ahead to get her bangs swept like curtains after noticing how most of the girls in Seoul did their hair.

Besides undergoing a somewhat drastic hair transformation, Eunseo couldn’t stop thinking about that moment with Baekhyun. That feeling that she could recall so easily after being in a close proximity with him still lingered. And the more she thought of him, the longer it stuck around within. Not that she would want it to go away, but it was confusing.

Was it truly what she thought it was, love? Eunseo had a prior experience with it, so it wasn’t exactly a foreign thing to her. And she knew precisely it was love; that stirring feeling, purity and thrill, butterflies going wild, and her heart skipping a beat. The thing that confused her most was, how was she feeling love towards Baekhyun? 

Standing outside of the flower shop, she kicked tiny pebbles along the sidewalk as a way to kill time to wait for Jongin. She was glad she changed her hair, her bangs were starting to get long and it was painstakingly time-consuming to trim them. Simply splitting them into curtains as side bangs was better and somewhat life-changing.

The low hum of Jongin’s scooter prompted Eunseo to look up from the pavement and smile as he drove closer. As he came to a stop, he took off his helmet and shot a weirded-out look toward her.

“I almost didn’t recognize you,” Jongin chuckled, “What’s with the sudden hair change,” he questioned as he pointed to her hair.

“Ah,” Eunseo swept her side bangs behind her ears, “I just got inspired to change it,” she smiled.

“Let me guess… from Seoul?”

Eunseo stood in silence, bewildered at how he could guess so accurately. “Y-Yeah, how’d you know?”

“Baekhyun and I went drinking with some friends last night, he told me,” Jongin answered while hanging his helmet on one of the handles of the scooter.

Eunseo couldn’t really picture Baekhyun as the person to drink, but that wasn’t really the thing she was entirely focused on. She wondered how they had the chance to meet again and what Baekhyun had told Jongin.

She arched a brow, “How’d you guys even meet again?”

“Ah, I bumped into him while we were both grocery shopping. We talked for a bit then I asked if he was willing to hang out with me and friends, you know like uh Kyungsoo, Jongdae, Minseok, and some others.”

“Oh, What did he tell you… about Seoul?”

“Just that you both went to Seoul and did some things there because you wanted to.” Jongin then pursed his lips, “You know, I thought it was pretty nice of him to do that for you. Not everyone will do that sort of thing for someone else. He’s a good guy.”

“Yeah, he is.” A smile crept onto her lips as she recalled everything he had done for her. 

“You like him, don’t you?”

Eunseo stood frozen at Jongin’s assumption. Before she could open to deny it, her shoulder slumped as she tried to comprehend if she actually did. As images of Baekhyun ran through her head, she found herself comforted yet confused.

Taking her silence as an answer, Jongin clapped his hands together and pointed to her as his eyes lit up, “You do! I knew it!”

“You’re being too loud,” Eunseo shushed him through her teeth. 

“See?” Jongin’s voice lowered, “You’re not even denying it.” He broke into a wide grin.

Eunseo sighed, “It’s just that…” She tried to think of a way of explaining it simplistically but gave up, “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know,” he questioned puzzlingly. “How do you not know?”

“I don’t know Jongin… You know how love feels right? I feel that with Baekhyun but I don’t know how it just happened.”

“So, you do like him!” Jongin laughed then continuing with, “You were just unaware of that feeling, until when?”

Recalling the moment their faces were close at Namsan Tower, she smiled, “When we went to Seoul - near the end of the trip - that's when I realized that I was feeling it.”

“And you don’t know when this all started, right?”

“Yeah, I don’t even know how or even when it all started,” Eunseo sighed out of frustration as she tried figuring out the timeline. “It just appeared out of nowhere, like a fox that pounced on a bunny from behind, taking it by surprise - that kind of thing.”

“For someone who really likes the idea of love, you’re not very good with it,” Jongin smirked, “I thought watching those romantic dramas and movies would’ve taught you a thing or two.”

“I expected it to be a bit more obvious when it first comes,” Eunseo defended. “I’m just learning from prior experience.”

Jongin and Eunseo stood at the rooftop of her home, admiring the sunset while holding cans of beer. It was a week after completing their senior year of college, and what better way to celebrate it with alcohol and talking about the last four years? Laughing at Jongin’s story of him encountering a drunk man peeing in the alleyway near his home, she cracked into a series of chuckles as he acted out the story with exaggerated gestures and somewhat slurred words.

“Now, tell me, what funny story do you have in store,” Jongin smiled before taking a sip from his can. 

Eunseo giggled as she was itching to say it, “I had a crush on you since sophomore year of highschool.” She stated as she drank a sip of her beer, admiring the sunset not even glancing at Jongin, who was silent.

She then sighed in relief. It felt good to finally say it.

“What?”

“I had a crush on you,” Eunseo repeated, turning to Jongin, who looked at her with confusion drawn on his face.

“Is this you or the beer talking,” Jongin seemed to have sobered up from her sudden confession. “Are you actually serious?”

“Yeah, I’m serious. Seven years of liking you,” Eunseo responded, “I’m pretty sure I’m sober.”

“How come you’re just telling me now?” Jongin asked, he rested his elbows on the metal railings and stared at her. 

That stare used to have such an effect on Eunseo. She would feel herself melting into a puddle of warmth, her heart beating against her rib cage itching to be claimed by Jongin, and the butterflies in her stomach would flutter crazily. Yet, here she was now stared back at him, unbothered by his warm, burning eyes. 

“I just want to let go of it from my mind, you know?” Eunseo sighed as she turned back and looked down at the dim street. “After last month, I realized that my feelings toward you were mostly because of my dad. And now that he’s gone, those feelings were just a way to make things better from what I experienced, so it just went poof.”

It was silent between them, only sounds of the metal cans crumbling in their hands along with the bugs awakened by the incoming darkness occupied the empty, silent world around them.

“Wow,” Jongin breathed. “How was I so oblivious all this time?”

Eunseo laughed then scoffed. “I guess you took my attempts in flirting as an act of kindness. But it’s alright now, I’m content.”

“And you never found a way to confess to me during those seven years?”

Eunseo had tried so many times. She sent letters, gifted him sweets and chocolates, and even asked if they could privately talk in a private place. But they never played out how she would want it to be. Jongin couldn’t pick up the hints from her tiny gifts and their small private talks would end abruptly with him being called by someone else.

“I did, but I guess you never got the hint. Other times, it just didn’t end well.”

“I’m so sorry, I really didn’t know…”

“You’re forgiven. It’s all in the past now.” Eunseo tapped the railings with her fingers. “I’m not bothered about it anymore.”

“Really?” Jongin raised his brow, skeptic of her response. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” she replied while nodding, completely sure of it. “I’m sure.”

“I’m curious though, how did you start liking me?”

-

It all began within a week into sophomore year in high school. Eunseo was busy doodling in her workbooks, waiting for her friend to come by before class would begin, which was about in half an hour. While silently going about in her own business, a loud crash from outside the classroom prompted her to look up from her desk. Alarmed, she got out from her seat and out the door to see what caused the commotion outside. 

“Are you okay,” Eunseo asked worriedly as a boy laid on the floor with contents from his bag sprawled all over the hallway.

She then noticed the tiny sign that hung over the classroom door was knocked down, her brow raised at how that was possible.

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine,” he stammered as he slowly got up from the floor. His head was lowered, she couldn’t yet see what he looked like.

“What happened out here?” Looking down the hallway, Eunseo noticed three of her classmates: Kyungsoo, Jongdae, and Minseok standing from afar with surprised looks on their faces. With a sigh, she knew they were up to their horseplay antics - again.

“We were just playing around,” he answered. 

As his face was revealed, she felt washed away from his beauty: his shiny, bronzed skin, his soft lips, and soft, doe eyes. He was definitely someone new as she had never seen such a person before.

“Y-You don’t need to damage the classroom’s sign to play around,” she replied as she picked the sign up. Then eyeing the papers and materials that were still on the floor, she gestured toward it. “Do you need help?”

Turning around to the mess behind him, he then sheepishly chuckled while rubbing the back of his neck. “Could you? Those guys back there definitely won’t,” he pointed to the trio behind him.

“Yeah, of course.” 

After cleaning up and putting everything back into his backpack, they stood in front of each other.

“Well, um,” Eunseo began, “I’m Na Eunseo. How about you?”

“Kim